School chief race tests reach of unions, reformers

SAN FRANCISCO (AP) — Tom Torlakson, the veteran lawmaker seeking a second term as California's elected superintendent of schools, and Marshall Tuck, a former charter school executive hoping to unseat him, are both Democrats.

The two agree the state spends too little on education, favor giving local districts more discretion about how to use their funding and share support for the Common Core State Standards, the national learning benchmarks that have generated a backlash over whether they undermine states' rights.

As they prepare to compete along with a Republican candidate in the June primary, however, Tuck and Torlakson's backgrounds and perspectives on a handful of hot-button issues are making the nonpartisan race a referendum on whether change is coming quickly enough in a state where the traditional might of labor unions is being challenged by increasingly restive education reformers.

Tuck, 40, who has never held elected office, counts himself among the latter. A graduate of Harvard's business school, he spent five years leading Green Dot Public Schools, a Los Angeles charter school operator, and six years as CEO of a nonprofit founded by former Los Angeles Mayor Antonio Villaraigosa that took control of 17 poorly performing public schools.

He says his experience running schools that were staffed with unionized teachers but given flexibility in terms of recruiting, setting curriculum and measuring results persuaded him that state government stifles innovation in education more than promotes it.

"Is Sacramento creating the conditions for superintendents, principals and teachers locally to be most successful? The reality is they are not right now, and I don't think the current people leading are capable of leading in that area," he said.

Unlike Torlakson, who has been endorsed by California's two main teachers unions and the state Democratic Party, Tuck opposes California's generous teacher tenure system, has challenged the law that bases teacher layoffs on seniority and believes strongly that student's standardized test scores should be a factor in teacher evaluations.

He also supports California's pioneering "parent trigger" law, which Torlakson voted against when he was a member of the state Assembly. The 2010 law allows parents at low-performing schools to petition for a takeover that can include installing new leadership, closure or conversion to a charter school.

These positions don't make him anti-union, just impatient with the status quo, Tuck said. He has secured endorsements from the Los Angeles Times and San Francisco Chronicle.

"A lot of people are like, 'Hey, why wouldn't you just wait until 2018 versus going up against an incumbent?" he said. "I'm like, 'Are you kidding? We have 2.5 million kids who can't read or write at grade level.'"

Torlakson, 64, spent eight years as a high school science teacher in the San Francisco Bay Area before entering politics full-time in 1980. He said he has earned the chance to follow through on the major policy shifts upon which California has embarked since he was elected as superintendent of public instruction in 2010.

During a second term, Torlakson said he would prioritize additional funding for implementing Common Core, ensure an effective transition to the new school funding formula that directs more money to schools with the most disadvantaged students, and continue championing programs that meld academics with career preparation.